GRADUATE STUDENT SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS

SUMMER 2010

The Graduate Student Summer Research Fellowships is a companion program to the University of Maryland Flagship Fellowships and the Ann G. Wylie Dissertation Fellowships. The Summer Research Fellowships provide support to doctoral students at “mid-career,” that is, in the period approximately before, during, or after achievement of candidacy. Fellowship awards were made to 49 students in Summer 2009, and we hope to continue that in 2010.

The Summer Research Fellowships will provide doctoral students the opportunity to concentrate fully on their own scholarly activities and research, for the duration of a summer, at a critical moment in their graduate studies. The specific goal of the program is to help students to take a significant step forward in their studies in a timely manner; the overall goals are to reduce time-to-degree, to increase degree completion, and to enhance the quality of the graduate student experience.

Please direct inquiries regarding the Summer Research Fellowships or the guidelines below to Associate Dean Gary Hamilton, The Graduate School, at ghamil@umd.edu or ex. 5-7792.

GUIDELINES FOR GRADUATE STUDENT SUMMER RESEARCH FELLOWSHIPS

Eligibility

Eligible students will have excellent qualifications, will be making demonstrable progress through their program, and will be able to show that a summer of focused work will enable them to prepare for or complete a key benchmark in their program's requirements. Summer Research Fellowships are not intended for dissertation completion or for student recruitment, since other fellowship programs exist for those purposes.

Given disciplinary and programmatic differences across campus, programs and their nominees will have broad latitude in defining the benchmarks that students will prepare for or complete. Some humanities programs, for example, have extensive reading lists that students must master for candidacy exams; some science programs may require students at a particular stage to acquire and demonstrate new laboratory methods or other techniques; programs in many disciplines across campus require dissertation prospectuses and, often, formal prospectus defenses. These benchmarks, among others, would be appropriate.

Given the goals of the Summer Research Fellowships program, teaching assistants will not be eligible to teach during the summer of the award, and research assistants must be relieved of lab duties that do not directly advance their own research.

Nominations

Each doctoral program may nominate up to two candidates for Summer Research Fellowships. Nomination packages from programs should include:

1. Summer Research Fellowship cover form;

2. letter of nomination from the program's Chair or Director of Graduate Studies that addresses the student's outstanding qualifications, the significance of the student's scholarship or research, and the student's timely progress through the program (if applicable, a second letter from the major professor with whom the student is working may also be appended);

3. specific proposal of no more than two pages in length, prepared by the nominated student, stating a) the nature of the work to be accomplished during the summer and a plan for its execution; and b) the specific benchmark(s) that this award will enable the student to meet, as well as a clear indication of how the summer project fits within the program's timetable for completing graduation requirements.

4. copy of the student's curriculum vitae (no more than two pages).

A nomination from a program will signify a cost-sharing commitment by the program on the terms specified under “Stipend and Cost-Sharing” below.

Selection

A selection committee of graduate faculty representing academic disciplines from across the campus will review nomination packages and select the Summer Research Fellowship recipients. Selection decisions will be based on excellence, understood as a convergence of the nominee's qualifications and progress through the program, letter(s) of support, significance of the nominee's scholarship or research, and quality and feasibility of the proposed plan. It is expected that the cohort of awardees will reflect the University's commitment to diversity.

Stipend and Cost-Sharing

The Summer Research Fellowships program is envisioned as a partnership between the Graduate School and campus graduate programs. The Fellowships will carry stipends of $5,000, shared on a $2,500/$2,500 basis by the Graduate School and the program making a nomination. Please note: Summer Research Fellowships carry no tuition remission.

Summer Research Fellowships are awarded to specific students and are not transferable to other students. Should the nominated candidate decline the award, the Graduate School will return its portion of unused funding to the fellowship pool and the graduate program will retain its portion of unused funding.

Reporting

At the end of the summer, the student will submit a brief but specific report (no more than one page in length), countersigned by the departmental Chair or Director of Graduate Studies, or the major professor with whom the student is working, on the work accomplished during the period of the award.

Deadline

Nominations for the Summer Research Fellowship competition for Summer 2010 will be due in the Graduate School on March 22, 2010. Awards will be announced by the end of April 2010.

Programs should submit the nomination package electronically, in an email attachment, to Judith King in the Graduate School (summer-fellowship@umd.edu ).

Cover Form: Word PDF

Recommendation Form: Word PDF

For a roster of past winners of Graduate Student Summer Research Fellowships, please click here.